By Melissa Etehad, Jun 10, 2018<\/p>\n
When news broke that celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain took his own life just three days after fashion icon Kate Spade killed herself, mental health experts raised concerns about the extensive news coverage that was sure to follow and how that might impact others struggling with thoughts of suicide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWhen I heard about Bourdain, I was sad for him and for all the people who were going to hear about it, and I am also sad for people who might be influenced by it,\u201d said Madelyn Gould, a professor of epidemiology in child psychiatry at Columbia University.<\/p>\n
Gould, who has studied \u201csuicide contagion\u201d for years, said research has shown that the phenomenon is real and suggests that media coverage of celebrity deaths, in particular, can influence those who are vulnerable or at risk and can lead to a spike in suicide rates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe deaths of two high-profile people by suicide this week has much more of an impact than less well-known individuals,\u201d Gould said.<\/p>\n
Suicide rates across the country increased almost 10 percent \u2014 nearly 2,000 additional deaths \u2014 after the death in 2014 of actor Robin Williams, according to a study published in the journal PLOS One in February. Williams, 63, hanged himself in his Northern California home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In the months following Marilyn Monroe\u2019s death on Aug. 5, 1962, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that suicide rates jumped 12% in the United States compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
For someone contemplating suicide, publishing details about the way someone killed themselves can be a triggering mechanism, said Doreen Marshall, vice president of programs at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe details can fill in the picture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The death of a high-profile figure can make matters more difficult because of the extensive coverage it brings, such as the kind that followed Bourdain\u2019s death on Friday. He died of an apparent suicide at his hotel in eastern France, where he was filming a segment for his show on CNN called \u201cParts Unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe impact feels much closer when it\u2019s someone in the public eye because we feel we know them and we make assumptions about their life,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The deaths of Bourdain and Spade, who died at her Manhattan home on Tuesday, came the same week that a CDC report found that suicides have increased by more than 30% since 1999 in half the states and is now the country\u2019s 10th-leading cause of death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In 2016, nearly 45,000 Americans 10 or older died by suicide, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The CDC report also found that 54% of people who died by suicide did not have a known diagnosed mental health condition at the time of their death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Experts recommend journalists stay away from sensationalist headlines and avoid discussing graphic details when covering suicides, especially those of celebrities or other high-profile figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Gould said reporters can also help minimize the risk of suicide contagion by discussing messages of resilience and hope in their stories and to encourage people to seek help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Checking in with loved ones is also a good idea, Gould said, and opens up a line of communication that otherwise might not have been there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThere is help, and there is the right medicine and right therapy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cEven if you go into treatment and it\u2019s not the right fit, don\u2019t despair,\u201d Gould said. \u201cGet a different type of treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n